| Author | Message | ||
| Kristoffer Hansson (Maverick)
Junior Member Username: Maverick Post Number: 100 Registered: 3-2001 |
355 challenge is the most realistic car sim Ive ever played. I cant understand people that says Gran Turismo 3 is realistic because its not. Ive played the granturismo series for more than 50 hours but just cause it was fun, not realistic. 355c is THE game! And its best on dreamcast. Of course the stability control must be switched of but sometimes I play with abs and anti spinn. (The real car has it so why not turn these on?) Yu Suzuka let the entire team that produced 355c drive a 355 on a track that he rented an entire day in japan. So that the programers would know how the final game should feel. Ive talked to several 355 owners that says the feeling and handling of the car in 355c is very accurate. At the time the game was produced Yu Suzuka owned a 355gts. I bet the team behind GT3 cannot say the same thing. Ken - what times do you have on assorted tracks? Ive looked at the times presented on internet with awe. Those are impossible to match! Ive got like 51 secs on suzuka short but on the net the best have like 45 secs (if I recall right). Totaly impossible.... | ||
| James P. Smith (Tigermilk)
Junior Member Username: Tigermilk Post Number: 122 Registered: 7-2001 |
Best wheel/pedal for PS2? I prefer the Logitech wheel. There's a PS2 version for $80-100, but the PC force feedback wheel works just as well. Both are USB so you can use it with the PC and PS2. Nascar Heat 2002 on the PS2 is fantastic with the wheel. If you damage the left side suspension, for example, the wheel keeps trying to tug you down the track. You have to counter that effect the entire way. The support in the rally portion of GT3 is good too. It's certainly the best wheel I've tried. There's also a Ferrari Momo wheel I believe. | ||
| Ken A (Zff)
New member Username: Zff Post Number: 37 Registered: 12-2002 |
James, sounds cool -- you have pics? I think the UK PS2 driving rig you guys are talking about is the RaceStation. http://www.race-station.co.uk | ||
| James Adams (Madmaxx)
Junior Member Username: Madmaxx Post Number: 78 Registered: 11-2002 |
You can construct a sitdown out of 5/8th MDF. It's what all my MAME machines are made of. I use happ controls in my machines, and the correct t-molding for the outside. I had a full cockpit enclosure for MechWarrior 2 that I built when it came out. 2 subs located under the seat (modified racing seat) and behind my head. Force feedback (one of the first!) sticks and a whole barage of switched re-maped to a hacked keyboard. Took a large peice of plexi and formed a hatch from a 55galon drum as a mold hehe. painted black. Dark as anything inside, but it had a full set of lights in the side panels as well as an overhead. mounted 2 small fans in the front CP to keep me cool in the thing. I must say it was the closest i've ever been to piloting a 75 ton mech LOL!! James | ||
| Kevin Butler (Challenge)
Junior Member Username: Challenge Post Number: 139 Registered: 9-2002 |
Jon - That's probably a good way to get Chevy Chevette-level resale value out of your 355C-car. I saw that race seat setup online. It looked pretty cool, but I'm only into PC games and have tempered myself not to buy any gaming consoles. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 608 Registered: 8-2001 |
Kevin, There is a Dave and Buster's here in the DC area and that game always has a waiting line. Funny thing is that my lap times seem to improve with a few beers. Wonder if that would work out at Summit? Probably not a good idea! I have a MC2 for XBox but have yet to purchase a similar setup for PSII. I am thinking of making a cradle out of steel tubing and then installing an old Sparco seat and dropping some sort of pedal and steering set up. There is a place in the UK that makes these things custom from the ground up. Costs about $500-600. Regards, Jon | ||
| Kevin Butler (Challenge)
Junior Member Username: Challenge Post Number: 137 Registered: 9-2002 |
The first time I went to Dave & Busters (Lauderdale) my buddy and I spent the the whole night swigging beer and playing that game. I was refilling my card every half hour and pushing 8-yr-old's out of the driver's seat... | ||
| Erik (Teenferrarifan)
New member Username: Teenferrarifan Post Number: 42 Registered: 2-2003 |
Yes, I know this is OT but what is the best wheel/pedal combo for the PS2? Erik | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 607 Registered: 8-2001 |
Guys, I have both the Sega and PSII version. A friend of mine nearly bought the three panal arcage game off Ebay. They go between $4-$6k for systems in good condition. I was a bit disapointed that the PSII version didn't have much in the way of added features or enhanced graphics but it still a great game. Other good games for PSII and Xbox are Total Immersion Racing, 24 Hours of Lemans, Motot GP, and of course GT3. Stay away from the Indy/CART game is absolutely sucks! Regards, Jon P. Kofod 1995 F355 Challenge #23 | ||
| izel k. (Ferrarist)
Junior Member Username: Ferrarist Post Number: 212 Registered: 3-2001 |
Andre i agree with you can really learn how to drive a manual transmission car with "Hard Driving" | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
Junior Member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 224 Registered: 2-2003 |
Damn, how did I miss this thread? Most of the followups explained a lot of details for this game, I'll pick up the missing ones. The game, F355 Challenge was made by Sega, specifically their internal arcade R&D Department #2, A.K.A AM2 which is headed by Yu Suzuki, whom any self-respected gamer might know as the man behind awesome games such as Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter etc. The actual arcade game (the single monitor version) runs from a modified Dreamcast hardware named NAOMI (which runs off a PCB as opposed to the CD-ROM drive), so when you play the DC version, you are technically playing the same game as the arcade version. Of course, you are missing the shifter and pedals, but nothing a steering wheel controller won't fix. The deluxe cabinet (the one with three monitors and near-exact cockpit look) uses one NAOMI board for each monitor, so you can see the front, left and right of you. This was done to accomodate the NAOMI/Dreamcast processor, which I believe is technically inferior to a Pentium 4. The reason the PS2 version was inferior to the DC version is because it's a port, and I assume by that time the game was 3 years old already, personally I think Sega (which dropped their hardware console business to concentrate on their software business) was still sore at losing the video game wars to Sony. As for the original game (arcade), Sega did indeed received lots of help from Ferrari SpA, this game is one of the few to actually receive the Ferrari Idea stamp which marks it as a totally authorised Ferrari merchandise. Yes, I've heard the rumors too, but I heard that the person who was so impressed by this game was none other than Rubens 'Rubinho' Barrichello himself. Supposedly he said that the tracks, especially Fiorano, Monza and Sepang were very accurately representated. Speaking of Fiorano, what other game allows you to race at this exclusive private test track?  | ||
| Patman36 (Patrickr)
Junior Member Username: Patrickr Post Number: 150 Registered: 4-2002 |
My friend also has the arcade version, it rocks  Patrick | ||
| Ken A (Zff)
New member Username: Zff Post Number: 36 Registered: 12-2002 |
James, my post is a little misleading... among people who never used assists, never tweaked their settings and always played MT, I ranked as high as the top 5. Which was a bit down from the overall rankings. I used to hiro-shift, but I never got the hang of nazo-drifting. I loved the Nurburgring and Sepang tracks, but hardly anyone ever played those... I think I ranked as high as #2 (no assists, stock settings, MT) at the 'Ring. Suzuka (long) is probably my favorite, but it's SO popular I never got a good ranking there. I never played the ovals. I never raced semi-head-to-head online much because it seemed most people always wanted to race on ovals. I'm really disappointed that the PS2 version has no online capability. | ||
| Mfennell70 (Mfennell70)
Junior Member Username: Mfennell70 Post Number: 126 Registered: 7-2001 |
A friend of mine has a Race Drivin' game in his garage. I think it was $450 delivered. He had some hassle getting it working but now it's great. The car dynamics are very, very good. It's hard to believe that it's 10+ years old. | ||
| James P. Smith (Tigermilk)
Junior Member Username: Tigermilk Post Number: 121 Registered: 7-2001 |
Ken, impressive if you indeed weren't using nazo-drifting or hiro-shifting. I never had the patience to tweak settings to get the most out of the car setups. I just loved the play. Don't forget on the DC you could play online, albeit it was like a time trial since your online competitors weren't shown until AFTER the race. If you are looking for a good online console racing game, pick up an Xbox with the Xbox Live kit. It comes with an online version of Moto GP which is a great moto game. Nice physics, great AI, and the online competition is tough. All tracks are real which is a plus. | ||
| Andre Vieira (Goggles_pisano)
Junior Member Username: Goggles_pisano Post Number: 91 Registered: 5-2002 |
The arcade version is sweet, but my heart will always be with Hard Drivin'/Race Drivin', especially the Speed Track and the Autocross Track. True, the graphics are primitive compared to F355 Challenge (it came out in '89), but I imagine it would be the closest arcade experience to William H's 512TR you could get. That is the only arcade game you can actually teach someone to drive a standard transmission with. I probably could have bought that machine with all the quarters I put into it! | ||
| Ken A (Zff)
New member Username: Zff Post Number: 35 Registered: 12-2002 |
There was a time when I was OBSESSED with this game. I bought a Dreamcast and the MadCatz wheel/pedal set and built a rig to simulate a real car. Then I took an old broken leather office chair, removed the wheels and set the whole thing up on my HDTV. Playing it with the volume turned up was a lot of fun.  I would play for HOURS, EVERY day. I posted my times online (through the game), and among the people who never used assists, never touched the stock settings and always played MT, I ranked as high as the top 5 on some tracks. I don't have my Dreamcast anymore, but I bought a PS2 with GT3 and the Logitech force-feedback wheel/pedals. I have a new setup for that, but no pictures. I didn't get quite as obsessed over GT3 as I did with F355 Challenge, but it's still a pretty cool game. Haven't really played any games very much since I bought my 308, but if a good racing game with online play came out, I'd probably get hooked again. | ||
| Jonas Petersen (Karsten335)
Member Username: Karsten335 Post Number: 354 Registered: 11-2002 |
It's to slow. I tried it in Monte Carlo. The handling isn't very realistic and you don't get any rush, because it feels like you are going 50 km/h. I can't dig it | ||
| neal (95spiderneal)
Junior Member Username: 95spiderneal Post Number: 132 Registered: 3-2002 |
i just got back from palm beach and played game at boomer arcade in dania. was more fun than actual track driving! go as fast as you like and dont worry about crashing. reality was awesome with downshifts, engine note, abs, etc all near perfect. wish it had more usa tracks though. is it in nyc/li area? would even consider purchase if have too | ||
| John J Stecher (Jjstecher)
Member Username: Jjstecher Post Number: 435 Registered: 1-2002 |
GT3 is the only real racing game on any system that has close to real physics besides the F12002 games from EA Sports. The only downside of it is Ferrari, Lambo, etc wouldnt license their rights to the game. The Ferrari challenge game disappointed me when I bought it for PS2. Physics are not realistic and I dont like the sounds that much either. If anyone is interested in it let me know I will sell it to you for a couple of bucks plus shipping. | ||
| James P. Smith (Tigermilk)
Junior Member Username: Tigermilk Post Number: 120 Registered: 7-2001 |
That game was a huge influence on my and forced me to make a decision: 1) Buy the arcade cabinet 2) Buy a real Ferrari I went with option #2. Anytime I'm near an arcade I check to see if there's an F355 in there and give it a spin at Long Beach. I absolutely love that game. Have the Dreamcast version as well. Whenever I go to Tokyo I stay in the same hotel, and there's an arcade unit down in the attached bowling alley. I'll throw my 100 Yen in over and over. I'm addicted to that game. | ||
| Dan (Bobafett)
Member Username: Bobafett Post Number: 458 Registered: 9-2002 |
Uh, project gotham 2 isn't shipping... I know because a good friend of mine is the project manager. --Dan | ||
| Jonas Petersen (Karsten335)
Member Username: Karsten335 Post Number: 353 Registered: 11-2002 |
I think that game sucks..  NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 and Project Gotham racing 2 is the real deal. There are 6 Ferrari's in NFS, 3 of them modified ones. Project Gotham has the best graphics I've seen for a long time in a car game. I like the intro on 355 Challenge thou | ||
| izel k. (Ferrarist)
Junior Member Username: Ferrarist Post Number: 209 Registered: 3-2001 |
It's one of the best racing games i've ever played. And guys who played it at the arcades, did you watch the whole demo before inserting coin? I was amazed when i watched it 'cause i wasn't waiting something like that and the graphics are perfect. First shows the street in Maranello passing by Ristorante Cavallino then comes to the factory gate and you see your F355 challenge car. And if i'm not mistaken they were taking it to Pista di Fiorano then. I will try to find a dreamcast emulator right now but i don't think i will have fun like the arcade. | ||
| Aaron Williams (Aawil)
Junior Member Username: Aawil Post Number: 146 Registered: 8-2002 |
I think the one in wildwood was the 3 screen with the option of paddle shifters or 6 speed. Hopefully it'll be there this year as well. Go-karts and 355 challenge whooooo I love summer. | ||
| Mark Lambert (Mlambert890)
Junior Member Username: Mlambert890 Post Number: 77 Registered: 4-2002 |
The arcade version of 355 Challenge with the clutch is the flat out best driving sim I've ever seen in an arcade. I must have dumped $20 into it in Vegas and it was worth every penny! | ||
| Jaime T. Ferraris are sex on wheels (Chevarri)
Junior Member Username: Chevarri Post Number: 68 Registered: 1-2003 |
I have it for Dreamcast as well, but I have the best steering wheel/gas combo for console just for this game. I play it on my NEC 19 in flat screen monitor and its just flat out sweet. Its great cause it has the F1 paddle shifters too. I'll post a pic of me playing it when I get my digi cam back from my freinds tommorrow. The PS2 version is a weak compared to the Dreamcast, no pressure sensative controlls(throttle & gas) and the visuals are crappy. It is the best Ferrari simulator out, and Ferrari also helped devo it, only thing I dont like about it is the engine sound(computer generated). In fact I was reading a while back that a driver was so Impressed with the Arcade version he bought one, and took 3 secs off of his lap times @ Monza. Their is 2 arcade versions of F355, the single screen with paddle shifters, and my FAVORITE AND BEST IS THE 3 SCREEN WRAP AROUND CABINET WITH 6 SPD GATE SHIFTER, AND CLUTCH!!! I found the aforementioned cabinet on eBay for 13k. Their are also network races for it as well. Does that engine bay look familiar?  | ||
| David J. Smith (Darkhorse512)
Junior Member Username: Darkhorse512 Post Number: 207 Registered: 10-2002 |
I lkie the arcade version too. Hiting the rev limiter on manual upshifts kills your momentum. The exhaust note sounds cocrect. The hairpin in Long Beach is soo slow. I just wish you could run more laps. | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 554 Registered: 11-2001 |
The arcade games, used, run $8000 - $25000 or so depending on the options (number of monitors, linked or single systems, feedback systems, etc.) A google search will find several for sale. | ||
| Anthony Randazzo (Antroc)
New member Username: Antroc Post Number: 38 Registered: 4-2002 |
Last year, when I was at Dave & Busters in Philly, they had the arcade 355 challenge, and it was linked to another driver. That's the only game I played when I was there. | ||
| Erik (Teenferrarifan)
New member Username: Teenferrarifan Post Number: 41 Registered: 2-2003 |
There is also the arcade version on the ocean city board walk in NJ the game is awsome. Erik | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4578 Registered: 12-2000 |
Jennie about killed me this weekend. My favorite game at the arcades "was" 355 Challenge. At the mall we walked by the arcade and I started begging like a kid to go play the 355 Challenge game. | ||
| Dave Goldman (Dave328)
Junior Member Username: Dave328 Post Number: 128 Registered: 11-2002 |
D B: Yep, it came out around last christmas. Dave | ||
| Patrick Denonville (Arizonaguy)
New member Username: Arizonaguy Post Number: 31 Registered: 4-2003 |
I have Ferrari 355 Challenge for Playstation 2,the graphics stink. | ||
| D B (Threesixty)
Junior Member Username: Threesixty Post Number: 166 Registered: 8-2002 |
You can get 355 challenge on PS2? | ||
| Aaron Williams (Aawil)
Junior Member Username: Aawil Post Number: 145 Registered: 8-2002 |
Most of my free time these days goes into setup work with F1 2002.A spot opened up in NAR a online racing league and the competition is quite fierce. Sadly I'm going to miss the police survivors motorcycle run from philly sunday.The canadian grand prix for us is sunday. | ||
| Dave Goldman (Dave328)
Junior Member Username: Dave328 Post Number: 126 Registered: 11-2002 |
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2 has a F50,360 Spider,550 Barchetta, and a secret hidden 360 Challenge on it. Not exactly a finely tuned driving simulator, but it too is a great way to burn up a few hours! Plus they seem to have gotten the 360 exhaust right! Dave | ||
| Kenny Herman (Kennyh)
Member Username: Kennyh Post Number: 805 Registered: 8-2001 |
The actually arcade version of the F355 Challenge is awesome, anyone know how much one would run for? | ||
| Matthew J Germane (Mjgermane)
New member Username: Mjgermane Post Number: 45 Registered: 1-2003 |
I bought Project Gotham Racing for X-box, which has an F-50, 360 Modena, 360 Spider, and a few different 355's. I like this game 100 times more than the F355 challenge. I personally think this is the best racing game that has ever been put out. Project Gotham Racing 2 has an Enzo in it, I need to go buy that one as well. | ||
| Dave Goldman (Dave328)
Junior Member Username: Dave328 Post Number: 125 Registered: 11-2002 |
I bought my Dreamcast just for this game alone! I also have it for the PS2. It's a great game if you have a few hoours to kill and don't mind your ass falling asleep! Dave | ||
| Matthew J Germane (Mjgermane)
New member Username: Mjgermane Post Number: 44 Registered: 1-2003 |
They are free, all you need to do is download one. Just search for Dreamcast emulators on Google and you should find a few. | ||
| Paul (Pcelenta)
Member Username: Pcelenta Post Number: 311 Registered: 7-2002 |
Matt, that would be great...send me an e-mail and I will get you an overnight UPS envelope [email protected] | ||
| Aaron Williams (Aawil)
Junior Member Username: Aawil Post Number: 144 Registered: 8-2002 |
I finally found the arcade version in wildwood last year. It's pretty neat.What's a dreamcast emulater cost? | ||
| Matthew J Germane (Mjgermane)
New member Username: Mjgermane Post Number: 42 Registered: 1-2003 |
And you could play it on your PC with a Dreamcast emulator. | ||
| Matthew J Germane (Mjgermane)
New member Username: Mjgermane Post Number: 41 Registered: 1-2003 |
I have it for dreamcast, I never play it if you want it. All you would have to do it pay for shipping. | ||
| Paul (Pcelenta)
Member Username: Pcelenta Post Number: 310 Registered: 7-2002 |
does anyone know where I can find this for the PC? I played it recently at an arcade as was very impressed.. |